MHP staff recently had the opportunity to visit the Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. We've been working there to help Thunder Valley CDC enact its community sustainability regional plan. This plan, called Oyate Omniciyé, honors the culture and history of Lakota people while striving to create a sustainable economic future for generations to come.

On January 22, Governor Dayton unveiled his budget proposal for 2014-2015. While the budget signals a willingness to consider housing needs, advocates have their work cut out for them to ensure the legislature makes a $50 million strategic investment in creating housing and preventing homelessness across Minnesota.

MHP has surveyed the latest tools and articles to locate those that might be of interest to MHP Connect readers. This month's resources include national and local tools for monitoring housing in need of preservation and tools for successful homeownership, including shared equity home ownership and educational materials for new home buyers.

While many were celebrating the coming of the New Year with friends and family, Congress was frantically trying to pass legislation to prevent the country from falling off the fiscal cliff. During the early hours of New Years, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 was passed. While considered an imperfect bill by both Democrats and Republicans alike, there are several housing and community development victories to celebrate.